Learn To Fly
by TweakerWolf
Summary: When a tiny angel fledgling named Castiel gets lost, he loses all hope. But then Dean finds him, and after a rough start, takes him back to the bunker to figure things out. Sam and Dean quickly warm up to the tiny angel and welcome him into their home.


A/N: Since FF doesn't like links posted, I'll spell it out here. This fic was inspired by some art I saw on tumblr, artist is jennilah (jennilah -dot- tumblr -dot- com ) and they make some really amazing artwork. Check out her Tiny!Cas tag, there is a lot of amazing stuff! And there is one post in particular that caught my eye and next thing I know I've written like 6k words almost. The one you're looking for is at (jennilah -dot- tumblr -dot- com -slash- tagged -slash- spn+art ), it has Tiny!Cas jumping off a table and trying to fly and Dean catches him with a pillow before he can hurt himself. It's a few months old so you'll have to go through a few of the pages but it is adorable!

PS- I did ask for permission to write this fic based off their art, so of course I have to link back to them (or in the case of FF, spell out a link :P ) so please go check out their page if you're a fan of spn art! They do more than just Tiny!Cas stuff ^^

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 _Setting: Dean and Sam are hunters, but this AU greatly alters the timeline, basically the Winchesters still have their bunker and have defeated all kinds of supernatural baddies but neither of them has died and they have had no contact with angels (including Lucifer) up to this point. In this AU, angel fledglings are sent down to Earth to earn their halos by performing tasks/missions; they grow as their powers grow. Because I like the idea of kid!Cas, tiny!Cas will be childlike, not stoic and 'grumpy' like we see him in the show. I like that version of Cas very much but when this popped into my head, I thought of baby angel which meant childlike. Um, because I can, I'm making Lucifer an angel still sooooo, don't dwell too much on the fact that demons still exist but that Lucifer never fell… Also messing with the ages since technically Cas is labeled as an Seraph, and only under the archangels, I'm making him younger than the other angels and stuff. This fic is totally messing with ALL THE CANON from Supernatural. But I hope the cute/fluffy makes up for it =) Also a lot of people draw Gabriel with six wings even though Cas is supposed to have 6 wings (supernatural wiki says at least) and why Gabriel has 6 but the other older bros don't… no idea, I'm just rolling with the fan art I've seen =)_  
 _Also, this is the very first time I'm attempting to write anything for the supernatural fandom soooo, we'll see how it turns out XD_

Dean chuckled to himself as he walked out to the Impala, wad of cash tucked in his pocket. One of these days his pool hustling would get him into trouble, but not today! As long as he spread his game out among the bars in town and didn't take _too_ much money at one time, he shouldn't catch any serious flack. Besides, it wasn't like he and Sammy needed the money that bad anymore, they were doing pretty well in the funds department. They had the bunker, a place to call home now! Sure, they still spent weeks at a time on the road but it was nice to have a place that was officially theirs. Motel beds got lame after awhile, and to be honest, he and Sammy definitely needed their own space now and then.

As he dug his keys out of his pocket, he heard a high pitched whimper and some rustling under his car. "Better move kitty cat, this beast is going to be starting up. I'd rather not run over your flea invested butt!" He opened the car door and had one foot in when a sound made him pause. Was that… a sniffle? Cats didn't sniffle. Dean stepped away from the Impala, hand reaching for his gun. "Alright you, whatever you may be, come on out and I'll promise a quick death."

There was another scared whimper and some shuffling but nothing emerged; Dean cursed to himself. He had half a mind to just jump in the car and run the thing over but he knew the chances were low of the creature actually dying… But he'd been pulled under the Impala enough times to know that approaching the car wasn't smart either.

"Seriously?!" he muttered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching. With a sigh of resignation, Dean dropped onto his hands and knees, ignoring the wetness that seeped into his jeans. He'd intentionally stayed inside the bar until the rain had stopped in order to avoid wet jeans but apparently the universe had different plans… Great. Now here he was, trying to get a peek at the creature under his car and hopefully not get his face clawed off. "Show yourself you little monster."

His demand was met with silence. "Hmm, maybe it was just a cat after all, at least it was smart enough to get out from under my car…" But Dean still decided to exercise some caution, reaching forward and grabbing the flashlight he kept tucked in the door pocket. A quick flash revealed no sulking monster so he shuffled closer. Better make sure it hadn't done any damage to the undercarriage. As he shifted to get a good look, the light shone upon some dirty brown cloth, and then there was a yelp and a flutter of wings.

"Son of a bitch!" he cried out, pushing himself away from the car and reaching for his gun. "Show yourself!"

There was more silence but this time Dean wasn't falling for it. "I don't have all night, show yourself."

Slowly, a small head peeked around his front tire, eyes wide and full of tears. Dean frowned as he took in the terrified features of this small… humanoid. As he moved to get a closer look, there was another flutter and some dark substance covered the thing's face- monster! But just as Dean was about to pull the trigger, he realized he was looking at wings. He'd never… seen a creature with black, feathery wings before. Might as well find out what he was killing, "Hey, what are you?"

"P-p-please don't kill me," the thing squeaked out, voice cracking a bit. There was more sniffling and hiccupping as it feigned tears. Dean rolled his eyes, not buying the act.

Castiel was absolutely terrified! He was just looking for his brothers and then the rain started and he couldn't keep up… now he was huddled under this car and a man was threatening to kill him! Dad was going to be so mad when he found out… Castiel jumped when the man spoke again.

"Oh come on, at least toughen up, I'm not buying the crocodile tears. Out from under the car, let's go."

The fledgling hastened to do as he was ordered, not wanting to make this human angrier than he already was. "I-I-I just w-wa-wanted shel-t-t-ter," he stuttered out, teeth chattering from fear and the cold. No one had told him the human world would be so daunting and cruel. Castiel starting crying then, just wanting to go home!

Dean blinked in surprise… maybe the tears weren't fake after all, this creature was tiny… maybe it was just a baby… thing… He flashed back to the argument he'd had with Sammy a few years back, about the vampires. How they'd managed to convince him that they were good, they didn't kill or feed on people and they had no choice on being turned in the first place. They had just wanted to survive. And damn if Dean hadn't jumped on the bandwagon after seeing her turn away from Sammy's blood. It still went against everything they ever learned but maybe… maybe not every single creature was evil. To say the least this little guy was truly scared and was obviously young. "Tell me what you are," Dean said again, lowering his weapon a bit.

"I'mma fledgling," he answered, daring to peek at Dean through his feathers.

The human cursed under his breath and tucked his pistol out of sight, giving Castiel a glimmer of hope.

"Fledging means you're young and I just can't bring myself to kill something that's crying so much… Sammy's going to get a kick outta this… Have you killed anyone, a human? Don't you dare lie."

Castiel cried out in horror, "Never! That's against the rules!"

Rules? That was new… But judging by the look on the little guy's face, he was telling the truth. Better get him back to the bunker so they could figure out what exactly he was and what to do with him. "I'm going to pick you up, don't you try anything, understand? I'm taking you back to my place so we can figure out what you are."

The fledgling was terrified of what might happen to him but right now, going with this man at least meant some sort of shelter. If Castiel tried to run, he wouldn't last long in this cold weather. So he stood there, arms and wings wrapped around himself as the man picked him up. But he wasn't rough, didn't manhandle him and Castiel was grateful for that.

Now that he had the thing in his hands, Dean was able to get a better look at him. He was wearing clothes of some sort, although it was hard to tell with the little guy all hunched over and wet. But he looked remarkably human (if rather small, he was maybe only 6 inches tall), didn't have any fangs, pointy ears, a tail, or scales. Cautiously he climbed into the Impala and set the little one down on the dash. "Alright, I feel weird, not having a name for you besides fledgling… do you have a name?"

"I-I am Castiel…"

"Castiel? That's a new one…" Wait, wasn't this what he'd always warned Sammy against…. Once you name something you get attached! No, no, he wasn't getting attached, he just needed to talk to the thing and saying 'hey you' was rude, even for him. "Alright, Castel-"

"Cast-i-el," the fledgling corrected, emphasizing the 'I'.

"Whatever, look Cas, are you going to be good? Can I set you down on the seat and not have to worry about you scampering off?"

Cas? That was… new but not awful. He'd accept the nickname. "I promise," he said, teeth chattering again.

Dean sighed and carefully moved Cas to the seat and turned on the car. Of course he noticed that the little guy was shivering and he found himself automatically shifting the vents so he could get some warm air. So he wasn't totally heartless, sue him! It's not like anyone was around to see it anyways.

Castiel sighed as the warm air blew over his face and he stretched out his wings, hoping to catch as much of the warmth as he could. But he wasn't prepared for the car ride and every time the man would turn, Cas found himself stumbling across the seat. "Ex-excuse me… sir?"

"Sir?" the man snorted. "Might as well call me Dean."

"Dean then… is there anything for me to hold onto? I keep… falling over." The last thing he wanted this man- Dean, to think was that he was scampering away and trying to escape.

"We're almost there but… here, hold onto the edge of my jacket."

"Thank you." He shuffled over and reached out with tiny hands to grip the leather jacket. Dean was also very warm, so maybe Cas huddled closer than was necessary but the man didn't say anything. Today was just miserable! He'd gotten separated from his brothers and now he was cold and wet, then to top it off, this man was thinking of killing him! And Castiel had willingly climbed into the car with him… No wonder his brothers had left him behind, he was a sorry excuse for an angel. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Dean pull out his phone to send a text

 _Heads up, found some new creature, coming in hot. Have the laptop ready_

By the time Dean pulled up to the bunker, the little fledgling was sniffling and wiping at his face. "Come on, we're here."

"Okay…" Cas mumbled, feeling defeated. If he died here then… hopefully it would be quick. He found that he was trembling all over, and it had nothing to do with the cold this time. As Dean cradled him in one hand, Castiel's mind started to race and his heart began to pound. When Dean walked into the bunker, he was so on edge that when a second man stood up, with a gun pointed towards them, he screamed and hugged Dean's fingers. "Don't kill me, please! I-I'm just a fledgling!"

"Dean, what the hell?"

"Easy Sammy, put the gun away, I don't think this little guy is going to be hurting anyone, right Cas?"

Sam stepped closer, eye brows raised up high on his forehead as he registered the small creature in his brother's hand. "You're the one that said you were coming in hot. And where did you find… him?"

"Under the Impala as I was leaving the bar. He says he hasn't killed anyone and-"

"Killing is against the rules!" Castiel stated again, needing these two to understand. It seemed like they weren't just killers, Cas could see their souls and they were both good people… indiscriminate killers didn't have souls like this.

"So what is he?" Sam asked, putting his gun down on the table and sitting down in front of the laptop. "Any remarkable features, other than… being small?"

"Well there are the wings. That's it… otherwise he's perfectly human looking. He said he was a fledgling but that only means he's a small whatever he is… Maybe Cas doesn't know what he is?"

"Y-you… you don't know what I am?" When Dean had asked him the question… he'd just assumed that he'd never seen an angel that was so small before. Not many people knew about fledglings or expected them to be so tiny.

"No, that's why I asked… and you told me a fledgling, so that means a baby, but a baby what?" Dean reiterated.

Castiel puffed himself up and fluffed his wings, he understood now, where the misunderstanding came from. These two humans knew about the supernatural world, they just had never seen a baby angel before. Once they knew, they'd help him find his brothers! "I'm an angel," he stated, doing his best to conjure an ethereal glow. Judging by the look of disbelief… he didn't manage it. Lucifer was much better at the glowing…

"No way," Sam muttered, rushing over to get a closer look.

"Oh come on Sam, you don't really believe in-"

Sam looked at his brother, surprised, "Dean… you mean…. You don't?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Now why in the world would I believe in angels? We've been hunting monsters for how many years now? And not once, have we seen evidence of angels. None of our hunter friends have told us about angels either."

"Dude… we hunt demons! If demons are real then angels have to be real too," Sam countered, looking at Castiel with awe. "Obviously we can't hurt him, and look, he's soaked to the bone, c'mere Cas." He held his hands out so the tiny angel could jump over but Dean cupped his hands together and pulled Cas away.

"Dude, we can't trust him… I said, angels aren't real."

Castiel sniffed and looked up at Dean, confused. "I'm… I'm real, I'm right here! Angels aren't make believe!"

"You aren't an angel, you don't even have a halo, you're lying."

The tears welled over Castiel's eyes, "I… I haven't earned my halo yet, only fully grown angels get halos. And I suck at conjuring my glow… if Lucifer was here, he'd show you! You'd believe him! And, and, and my brother Gabriel, he has six wings! And they are a beautiful golden color! Him, Michael, and Lucifer all are fully fledged angels too, so they have their halos!"

Sam glared at Dean until his older brother relented and let the angel hop to him. Obviously Dean's words upset the little guy- totally uncalled for!

"I'm sure you'd like to wash up umm, would a sink be alright? You're rather small so a bathtub might be overwhelming, and we can dry your clothes for you."

"Th-thank you, that all sounds wonderful," Cas said, looking up at Sam fondly. He watched as he went into the kitchen and started up the faucet, rinsing out the sink before plugging it and letting the water warm. Then the angel was set on the counter while Sam went to gather some stuff, but Cas decided to start undressing at least, waiting around in his semi dry boxers was better than standing in his soaked coat. He was startled when Dean spoke up behind him.

"So, you're really an angel?" Dean asked, seeing the wings poke out from Castiel's back.

"Yes."

"And the clothes… where do those come from?"

"My sister Anael made these ones for me but… they are a little large… Normally one of the older angels supplies the fledglings with clothes before we are to start our quest."

"And you mentioned brothers? So normally you do quests with each other?" Dean asked, sitting down at the table. Maybe he was a little intrigued despite himself, if this little guy really was an angel, this was a rare experience.

"Well at first yes, because we are so small but as we get bigger and gain more angelic powers, we split off and wander on our own. When we finally achieve our halos, we're allowed back into Heaven."

"And how many are in your little fledgling group," Sam asked, coming back with a chunk cut out from a bar of soap and a washcloth he could use as a towel.

"There was Balthazar, Samandriel, and Uriel with me," Castiel told him, coughing just slightly. Truthfully, he wasn't… supposed to leave yet, he was still much too small. He snuck out when the other three did. Castiel was still deemed too young, along with Anael and a few others. But he'd just been so eager! Thankfully, before Dean could ask more questions about their quests, Sam said he could go ahead and hop in.

"Water isn't too hot right?" Sam asked, politely holding the washcloth up as a curtain so the angel could climb in.

"It is nice and warm, thank you."

"Alright, well here's the soap and everything, Dean and I will be sitting at the table if you need anything else," Sam mentioned before sitting back down by his laptop. He then turned to Dean, "So, angels, I never thought I'd see one… nor did I imagine they'd be so small. Although I guess it makes sense if he's a fledgling and that they are supposed to get bigger as they gain more powers. I can't believe you found an angel Dean, this-"

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Dean whispered, looking towards the sink where they could hear splashing. The older Winchester still wasn't 100% convinced that angels were real but he was starting to feel a little bad that he threatened the winged dude. "But okay, so he's here, now what do we do? I mean… Cas said he's looking for brothers but… how do we help him find them?"

"Ex-excuse me, I um…. My brothers should be able to find me. They are much better at tracking than I am and… can I just stay here until then? If I stay in the same area, tracking me down will be much easier," Cas said, leaning over the edge of the sink so he could see them. What he didn't tell them was that it would probably take a few days because they didn't know… Cas had snuck out. And he wasn't sure how long it would take Dad to get word to them to come look for him…

"Hey, don't look so sad… they'll come find you, that's what brothers are for," Dean said, smiling at the tiny angel. "Are you hungry? Do angels get hungry?"

"We don't need food no, but I would be… interested in trying some? I have heard good things about food."

"How do burgers sound?" he asked, looking at Sam as well.

Sam smiled, "You do make some really good burgers, I'm in."

Awhile later, as Dean bustled over the stove, Castiel carefully climbed out of the sink and started drying off with the big washcloth. The water had been so warm and nice and he was feeling much better now. He jumped slightly when Sam spoke again, having approached Cas without the angel noticing.

"Your clothes should be dry," he commented, separating the articles off the small safety pin he'd fastened them too. Didn't want them to get lost in the dryer after all.

"Oh, thank you!" Cas beamed, holding the warm clothes close. Again, Sam held the washcloth up to give him some privacy. He felt his spirit warm as he got dressed, the heat from the clothes soothing his frayed nerves.

"Hey, hey Dean," Sam whispered fervently, eyes wide.

"Why are you whis-" Dean started to ask when a sharp look from his brother silenced him. But then he noticed the light coming from the counter and stepped closer. He peeked over the edge of the washcloth and noticed that Cas was… glowing. A smile tugged at his cheeks as he watched Cas button his shirt, his wings fluttering to help dry them. "Whoa…"

"Guess he's telling the truth then, I don't know any other creatures that can do that, and the wings…"

"They are black though… aren't angels supposed to have-"

Castiel turned and looked up at them, as he pushed his arms into his trench coat. "Wings come in all colors and sizes, like I said, Gabriel has golden wings, Balthazar has two-toned brown wings. Uriel's are a very dark brown and are more… stubby. Lucifer's are long and they dazzle. Michael has the strong white wings."

Both brothers blushed as they realized the angel had noticed them staring. Would have been pretty hard to not hear them, even if they were whispering, they were both hovering over him. But now that he was dressed, Sam unplugged the sink and went to put the washcloth in the washing machine to be washed later.

"Hamburgers should be ready soon, um yours might be a little messy since I'll have to tear pieces from my hamburger but it will still be tasty, I promise."

Castiel let Sam move him to the table and watched as plates were set down and napkins and cups. He knew his wings were fluttering in his excitement but he couldn't help it- his first real meal! It smelled very nice and surely it would taste very good; when Dean finally slide a small burger onto his plate, Cas stared.

"I know it won't win any points for looks but, just try it," Dean mumbled, worried already.

The angel looked over and saw that Sam was holding his bigger version in his hands and hastened to copy him. Carefully Cas picked up hamburger and looked up expectantly, wondering what to do now.

"Take a bite," Dean prompting, finally grabbing his own.

Cas tilted his head and then clacked his teeth together, wondering just what that was supposed to do. As Sam started laughing and Dean just… stared, he realized he must have been mistaken. "I.. I have never eaten before… forgive me if I… did something wrong."

"You seem so… how can you be so knowledgeable in some things but not know how to eat?" Sam asked, genuinely curious.

"Angels never eat and unless you have a halo, you aren't allowed to um… peep in on Earth. Our first visit to Earth is supposed to be special and we have to find our way. But we aren't completely ignorant since we are Heavenly beings, we just learn different stuff in Heaven than you learn here on Earth."

"Well I'm sorry for laughing, I just wasn't expecting to see you do that. You didn't do anything wrong, you just took our words literally. I'm sure Dean would be more than happy to demonstrate," Sam chuckling.

Dean paused, burger inches away from his mouth, "What? I'm hungry…" And with that, he took a huge bite out of his hamburger.

"Ooooh, I see now," Castiel mumbled, eagerly copying Dean. He chewed and chewed, eyes closing as he took in all the flavors, automatically swallowing so he could take another bite. His small hamburger was gone in minutes and Cas was sitting on the table, humming happily. "That was quite tasty! Thank you for sharing that with me."

"No problem, always happy to cook for others," Dean told him. "Although, can I ask a question, about your angel quest?"

"I'll be happy to share what I can. Some must remain a secret of course but I can share general knowledge with you I'm sure."

"I was just… how did you get separated from your brothers? I mean, didn't they notice you were… gone?"

"I um… I can't… my wings…" Cas sniffled. "My wings aren't as strong. Flying in Heaven is so easy but… it is different down here. Their wings were stronger than mine and I guess they didn't notice that I wasn't keeping up. It was dark and raining… it made it hard to talk to each other." Cas wiped at his eyes, flashing back to a few hours ago, when he crashed to the concrete, a huge gust of wind knocking him off balance. He called out to his three brothers but they hadn't heard him over the wind and kept on flying.

"Oh, hey, I didn't mean to upset you… They'll notice soon, I'm sure they are already out looking for you," Dean stated, reaching out and rubbing a finger over Cas's hair.

Castiel sniffled loudly but nodded his head, "Yea, I just have to be patient."

"And don't be sad about your wings either, they'll get stronger as you practice more. You've never used them on Earth before, but if you just practice, they'll get nice and strong," Sam assured him.

When they finished their late dinner, Sam gathered his laptop and the angel, moving into the living room, planning on showing him the wonders of television while Dean cleaned up the kitchen. Minutes later, when Dean wandered into the room, about to ask Sam if he had any cool cases for them to look into, he saw Castiel standing on the back of the couch, wings spread. The look of determination on the angel's face was the biggest hint on what the he was about to try. Dean watched in slow motion as his wings flapped once and then he leapt off the back of the couch.

As Cas continued to fall, he flapped his wings, desperately trying to slow his descent but it wasn't working. He realized he was going to hit the floor and could do nothing to slow himself down, so he just closed his eyes and grit his teeth.

"Oh shi-" Dean yelled, leaping into action with his hands were outstretched. Thankfully he slid as he hit the floor, catching the tiny angel before he crashed into the hardwood floor. There was a small oof as Castiel landed in his hands.

"Cas, what are you doing?" Dean yelled, looking at the small angel in his hands.

"What happened?" Sam asked, startled as he turned around. It took him a moment to locate Dean, still lying on his stomach.

"I… I wanted to practice my flying…" Castiel mumbled, wings curling around him.

sighed, "Not over the hardwood floors, okay? You could have seriously hurt yourself! We can set up some pillows or something."

"I… I hadn't thought of the consequences, I apologize."

"Just as long as you're okay," Dean sighed, getting on his knees and setting the angel back on the couch. "Sam, I thought you were watching him!"

"I… I was…. I didn't know he'd just… jump."

Dean scowled and got to his feet, leading Cas over to the other end of the couch. "Try flying this way, from this corner to Sam's side. That way, even if you fall, you'll land on something soft."

"Okay, I can do that."

Dean and Sam both watched as Cas worked up his courage again, leaping into the air and spreading his wings. He only managed to flap them a few times before he tumbled out of the air, landing with a soft whump. They heard a heavy sigh and his head bounced against the cushion.

"Do… Are there any wing strengthening exercises?" Dean asked, turning to Sam.

Cas looked up, surprised, as the two brothers started brainstorming, hunching over the laptop. Slowly he crawled over to them and looked at the images on the page, not sure if it would really help.

"There, that one, I think that would be good practice," Dean said, pointing to something.

"Worth a shot," Sam agreed. "I think he just needs to get his back muscles used to the weight, so if we build up the muscles, he'll have a more powerful flap, give him a little more oomph."

Dean scooped up the angel and set him on the coffee table, placing a spare piece of paper down in front of him. "Alright Cas, using just your wings, move this piece of paper from one end of the table to the other."

"How is this supposed to help exactly?"

"You said flying in Heaven was easy right? But down here, gravity is messing with you and your wings aren't used to the weight. So you've got to build up those muscles. You build muscles by working them out. Obviously you have to start small, if you try to move something too heavy, you'll just end up hurting yourself. So practice moving this first."

"Well, okay," Castiel muttering, not understanding but, it couldn't hurt to try. So he flapped his wings, watching as the paper fluttered but didn't really move. Really, he couldn't even move this?

"Wait, wait, don't just… flap. Push. But some strength behind the flaps," Dean commented, sitting back on the couch to watch his progress..

Cas tilted his head, "Push? Hmm…" In Heaven, he never needed to push, but Dean and Sam had mentioned gravity so maybe extra force was the key. If Anael were here, she'd tell him that he shouldn't have skipped out on his flying lessons. Surely they covered this before fledglings were sent down to Earth. But Cas could totally do this on his own! He was ready! So he concentrated and flapped his wings as hard as he could, bringing them in front of him with as much power as he could muster. As the paper fluttered and hovered along the table for a few inches, Cas beamed up at the two Humans. Progress! Excitedly, Cas stepped forward and repeated the process, wing tips fluttering as the paper moved again.

Dean and Sam both had fond smiles on their faces as they watched the angel move down to the end of the table and back with his piece of paper. After his second circuit, Sam leaned over and whispered, "We'll have to give him something heavier soon, look how far he gets with one whoosh."

"Maybe crumble it into a ball, that will make it heavier without like, moving onto something solid like a pebble…" Dean mused.

Moments later, they heard a small oops, and looked at the table. Cas had knocked the paper clear off the table.

"I think that's a sign it's time for a step up," Dean chuckled, getting off the couch to retrieve the paper. He crumpled it into a very loose ball and set it back on the table. "Okay, try that."

"That… that seems hard…" Castiel said, look of doubt on his face. He could feel his back adjusting to the new weight of Earth, just like Sam and Dean had mentioned, but the ball of paper was certainly heavier than the flat piece he was working on.

"Naw, I can do it, look." Dean crouched down and let out a breath, sending the ball flying across the table. "If I can do that with just my lungs, your wings can do it too."

Cas grinned, warmed by the belief Dean had in him; he could totally do this! He ran and grabbed the ball of paper and set it down on the edge so he could get the maximum distance out of the table.

The brothers split their attention between the angel and the television, making sure he didn't tire himself out completely. About thirty minutes later, with Cas still going strong, Dean decided that maybe the angel should try flying again.

"Whaddya say Cas, ready to try again, see how much progress you've made?" he asked, holding a hand out for the tiny angel to jump onto.

"Yes, I feel much more confident in my skills now." He clambered onto the back of the couch again, ready to try this. He probably couldn't fly but maybe he would at least get further than before. Cas spread his wings, closed his eyes, and jumped, tensing his muscles to keep his wings taut. When he didn't immediately flop onto the couch, he opened his eyes- he was on his way to the floor. Only this time, he was gliding- he was gliding! As he approached the floor, he fluttered his wings and adjusted his feet, only stumbling a bit as he landed. Sam and Dean let out some loud hoots of congratulations, the small angel turning and beaming up at them. "I'm getting better!" he cried out, huge grin on his face. He was so worked up with excitement that he quickly climbed up Dean's jeans and jacket, making his way back to his starting point.

"Don't overdo it okay?" Dean told him gently. He could see that the fledgling was excited though, so he let him try again.

A few hours later, Dean finally got up from the couch, holding the angel in his hands, "Time for bed little guy, we get up early in this house… er, bunker."

Cas tilted his head, wondering where they were going and when Dean asked if a small drawer in his desk was okay, the angel accepted. He watched as Dean shuffled around and made a small nest for him in the top drawer of his desk. Then everyone said goodnight and Dean turned off the light. Cas copied Dead, climbing into his nest area and cuddling up under the blankets but nothing happened…. After awhile, when he was certain that Dean was asleep, Cas climbed out of his nest and flexed his wings, angels didn't get tired like humans did, so he might as well spend his time productively. He'd be quiet of course, it wouldn't be nice of him to disturb Dean after everything the human has done for him.

Hours later when Dean's alarm went off, he was surprised when a small bundle of energy slammed into his chest.

"Dean, Dean, Dean! Are you awake now?" Cas yelled out, lightly patting Dean's cheek.

"Yea, I'm awake," he mumbled, blinking his eyes to clear his vision. "What's up, everything okay?"

"Everything is great! Look!" With that, he flapped his wings and took off from Dean's pillow, flying over to the desk and landing confidently.

"Whoa, you can fly now? When did you learn how to do that?" Dean asked.

"Well um… I… didn't sleep last night…"

Dean frowned, "I know flying is important to you but you shouldn't have stayed up all night to learn."

"But… angels don't sleep," Cas told him, hands knotting together. Was he in trouble?

"Wait what? Why didn't you say something, I could have stayed up a little later, kept you company or something…" Dean felt bad, he hadn't even asked if the angel was tired… And he had looked so confused last night but he never asked any questions…. Dean was supposed to be good at the caretaking thing, how had he missed this?

"I've never seen an angel sleep. At first I wasn't sure what you meant by going to bed but then when you fell asleep I realized what you needed. I was very quiet, I made sure I didn't crash- I didn't want to disturb you. Is that okay?"

Dean laughed, climbing out of bed, "Dude, it's totally fine, if you don't need sleep then I'm glad you found something to work on. Now let's go show Sammy."

"Okay!" Castiel jumped from the desk and flew over to the door, zooming around the hallway as soon as Dean opened it.

Dean found himself smiling, happy to have this little guy around. Who would have thought angels were real?


End file.
